This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. In college, I participated in an unforgettably tedious Birthright Israel trip. The students on my trip were bored by history,...

Mahjong, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Most recently, I felt cooler than cool when I found out movie star Julia Roberts’ favorite hobby is playing mahj!  Several of you have sent me a 2018 video clip that’s resurfacing of the Oscar-winning...

The New Jewish Theatre will close out its 2024 season with “First Date,” a romantic musical comedy that hopes to take audiences on a rollercoaster of laughter, heart and unexpected surprises. Before heading to the Wool...

Mel Brooks, who mocked Adolf Hitler in his 1967 black comedy “The Producers,” has always made the case for satire as a weapon against tyranny. “You have to bring him down with ridicule,” he told “60 Minutes” in 2001. “It’s been one...

Last week I visited my older son, Davis, at college. We had lunch, went shopping and enjoyed four glorious hours of mom and son time. He brought along one of his new buddies for lunch, the adorable and sweet Tommy.  During their bro talk I heard a word...

Always a show filled with emotion, the Musial Awards will bring plenty of laughs this year, thanks to a special appearance by Billy Crystal. The iconic Jewish comedian, actor and filmmaker—famous for his roles in “When Harry Met Sally” and “City...

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. Late Night with Seth Meyers could have been called Late Night with Seth Trakianski. Meyers’ great-grandfather was...

Kids, these days. No one knows what they’re talking about! It’s probably the same stuff we talked about when we were young but with new words.  Remember being young, when you didn’t have back pain and went out for the evening at 10 p.m.? Those...

This is an adaptation of our editor-in-chief’s weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it delivered to your inbox on Friday afternoons. At a Jewish conference in Chicago last month, I picked up a T-shirt for the husband with a single word on it:...

Actor and comedian Michael Rapaport, who was scheduled to perform at the Sheldon Music Hall in St. Louis on Saturday, Nov. 9, has canceled his show. MetroTix notified ticket holders, stating: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Michael Rapaport show...

The brightly colored “Sukkot boxes” offered up on Amazon boasted the colors of spring, not fall; had no ostensible use for the Jewish holiday; and contained a Hebrew misspelling that bordered on obscene. Reader, I bought them. And it wasn’t...